Halfway Wild - Hardcover

Author Laura Freudig lives on an island along the Maine coast with her husband, five children, two ducks, 15 chickens, one dog, and 9,000 honeybees. She likes reading, singing, hiking, and gardening.

At an early age, illustrator Kevin Barry began drawing crazy cats and martial artist monkeys on the backs (and corners) of his homework assignments, a habit he has yet to break. He was thrilled to put this wildlife sketching inclination to good use in illustrating Halfway Wild. When not illustrating books for children, the award-winning children's book illustrator can be found either scratching out stories with elementary students; snout deep in a book; or exploring the wilds of New England with his Halfway Wild family.

PreS-Gr 2—Freudig's debut picture book compares humans to wild animals. As a family of five go about their day, they morph into insects, birds, and forest mammals. The brother and sister look like bumblebees when they wake up because they fly out of their bunk beds with translucent wings. During breakfast, they use their moose antlers to help each other reach the cereal above the fridge. After some painting and TV, they go outside with their grandma and splash in the puddles with their webbed duck feet. On the beach, they are ants carrying a lot of things in their arms and on their backs, and seals swimming gracefully in the water. Bedtime routines involve comparisons to thirsty foxes, playful fireflies, and imaginary dragons. Barry turns the characters into animals by adding cute extremities such as ears, wings, tails, and feet. VERDICT This fun read-aloud about a loving family encourages children to mimic the animal behaviors depicted.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta.